NUR-SULTAN – Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov reported on the measures his government is taking to minimize the impact of the crisis in Ukraine on the country’s economy during his meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Feb. 24, reports the Akorda press service.
President Tokayev and PM Smailov during their meeting. Photo credit: Akorda
The measures are aimed at maintaining the current social and economic situation in the country, though the tenge, the nation’s currency, continues to lose its value against the US dollar in light of the looming conflict in Ukraine. As of today, it is being traded at 466.01 per US dollar, up from 440 tenge per US dollar.
The Kazakh government and the National Bank, which spent nearly US$137 million this week to dampen tenge volatility, announced today it would implement the Tenge Deposit Protection Program, which provides for a 10 percent compensation on people’s tenge deposits.
Smailov also spoke about the anti-crisis plan for economic development as well as the work aimed at compensating small and medium businesses for the damages caused by the January events and restoring damaged state facilities.
The reduction of tariffs for natural monopoly entities, ownership of railway sidings, development of manufacturing industry, and the agro-industrial complex was also on the meeting agenda.
